Doctor Who: The Star Beast

Doctor Who Target Books (Numerical Order) #178

by Gary Russell

A life-changing encounter.
A fugitive from the stars.
Wrathful warriors in pursuit.

Landing on Earth, the Doctor finds a stranded alien in need of protection -- and is dragged headlong into the life of his old friend Donna Noble, knowing that if she ever remembers their time together, she will die...

Based on a script by Russell T Davies, this brand-new adventure for Doctor Who’s 60th Anniversary features David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor and Catherine Tate as Donna Noble.

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fiction

149 pages, Paperback

First published January 11, 2024

About the author

Gary Russell is a British freelance writer, producer and former child actor. As a writer, he is best known for his work in connection with the television series Doctor Who and its spin-offs in other media. As an actor, he is best known for playing Dick Kirrin in the British 1978 television series The Famous Five.

Reviews

[ANB]

Target novelizations are always a mixed bag. I prefer the ones that add a bit of extra color to the episode we've seen on screen, the most shining example being Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor. This was the sort that's more or less a straight recitation of the script with just a couple of added scenes featuring a minor character from The Stolen Earth (the milkman) that didn't really add anything relevant or interesting. On the plus side we get a little bit of Sylvia's inner thoughts. On the negative -- even though it was copying dialogue word for word, the other characters came off flat and I couldn't "hear" Tenant or Tate in the way they were jotted down here. Three stars. A competent script-to-book transcription without much extra content to justify the $11 price tag.

[Stephen Robert Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but just got nothing new to add when reading the book you need more than the episode this just makes it less fun

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let's call this one 3.5 stars -- a very standard Target adaptation, with a few extra goodies& enhancements tucked into the corners. Nothing groundbreaking, but pretty enjoyable.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the one hand, it’s a very pedestrian novelization. Basically the televised story, exactly as you remember it, just with a handful of added scenes to pad out the runtime. But on the other hand, there is something delightful about even having a novelization so soon after the episode aired. And the extra insights do add a great deal to the story - especially the scenes from Sylvia’s point of view and the added bits of in-universe exposition at the end of each chapter. It’s just that Gary Russell’s novelization is a bit too faithful.

Still, it’s well-written, action-packed, and proves just how strong of a story “The Star Beast” is. And, in that regard, it’s hard to have any real complaints.

[Kaoru · Rating 4 out of 5]

We have now reached the stage in which we can read a book based on a TV episode that is based on a comic that is a tie-in to a TV show. (I always wanted to write this sentence.) It reads well, however. The dialogue is pretty much the same and the scenes play out exactly as they did as they did on the screen, but their description is vivid with neat choices of words, and there are a few extra moments here and there (as well as visually nifty interludes), so that the reading experience was more fun than anticipated.

What's kinda funny, though: Gary Russell chooses the singular 'they' in the text to refer to the Meep, even during the scene in which the Meep announces that the definite article is the way to go. But having just spent more than ten minutes writing that sentence down whilst trying hard to make it not repetitive, I can fully understand that. What a headache!

[ValeryVal · Rating 2 out of 5]

No es un mal libro, pero sí una mala novelización de un episodio moderno.

Tal cual el guion calcado con casi nada de contenido original. De no haber visto el capítulo, diría que una obra interesante; pero teniendo el episodio disponible, me resultó increíblemente tedioso.

Hasta ahora, casi todas las novelizaciones de capítulos de la etapa moderna de Doctor Who valían la pena por el extra añadido. No solo te daban el guion en forma de novela, sino que incluían escenas eliminadas, Easter eggs y contenido extra que el guionista no pudo incluir en el episodio. ¡Todo esto es gracias a que el guionista original suele ser también el autor de la novelización!

Ahora bien, si le quitas ese valor añadido al libro… Aporta muy poco a las estanterías de un fan, sinceramente. Se me ocurre por coleccionismo o por alguna discapacidad que no te permita ver episodio. Y ya. ¿Por qué vas a pasarte varias horas leyendo el libro cuando puedes ver el capítulo original sin perderte nada? A diferencia de la etapa clásica donde eran imprescindibles al no disponer de DVDs o VHS, ahora compensa usar ese dinero en pagarte la suscripción al Disney+ si siguen por este camino.

P.D: ¡Recuerda que podrás encontrar más contenido de Doctor Who en español en mi canal de YouTube y redes sociales!
Twitter e Instagram: @ValeryValWho
YouTube: www.youtube.com/ValeryVal

[Beccabeccabooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just like Doctor Who's first 60th anniversary special, the novelisation of The Star Beast is a blast. Not many books keep me up past bedtime, but this did.

Sure, it's quick and campy, but honestly, what else do you expect from an episode penned by the King, RTD? Gary Russell has just expanded this fun romp where ( spoilers ) Donna Noble and the Doctor reunite ( also spolier- The Doctor has an old face back and he's flabbergasted at why so ).

There are plenty of Easter eggs hidden throughout including, but not limited to: Wilf's allotment, Megabyte City and the 27 planets in the sky. Also, a minor character from wayyyyy back when is given a much bigger role this time around.

Sylvia in the past really grated my nerves but now she's a much kinder and protective Mama Bear and Gran. The novelisation just shows us how much of a turn around she's taken.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Doctor Who/ BBC / Bad Wolf Studios are missing out big time for not releasing a Beep the Meep plushie. We've never had a cuter creature since the Adipose. I say cute creature, but the Meep is FAR from that!!

5⭐

[Emma Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Samuel Aitkenhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

All hail me James Corden

[Gabor Hernadi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost perfect adaptation of the TV episode with some minor additions. All hail the Meep!

[Rob Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read.

[Joe Kessler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Novelizations are a bit of an odd genre in terms of their target audience, especially in this day and age when the original piece of media that's being adapted is generally accessible to all. (Decades ago, buying or renting a movie / show could be either expensive or impossible, and so low-cost novelized versions of those stories filled more of a clear marketplace gap.) For the recent line of Doctor Who books based on specific TV episodes, I tend to assume a given title isn't being read by anyone who hasn't already seen the adventure on-screen, and so the question turns to why we'd seek out this alternate format. And the plausible answer to that, I think, is that there's an implicit promise that the new iteration contains something extra that will deepen our enjoyment of the work when revisited in this fashion.

Doctor Who: The Star Beast, author Gary Russell's adaptation of the first Fourteenth Doctor special from last year -- script by Russell T. Davies, loosely based on a 1980 comic strip series by Pat Mills and Dave Gibbons -- isn't an obvious success by that metric. There are a few bonus interludes, and more character interiority in the third-person omniscient narration, but ultimately I wouldn't say that they add much to the overall experience of the tale. There's also been no attempt to tweak any elements from the filmed version to retroactively improve them, as was the case in the novelization of 2005's episode "Rose" or 2013's "The Day of the Doctor," both of which were published in 2018. Perhaps if this novel had likewise been written later, rather than rushed out the same week as the episode aired on television, it would have been able to factor in the critical reception and make minor adjustments -- like not telling the Time Lord hero who was very recently played by Jodie Whittaker and has demonstrated a pretty nuanced grasp on gender fluidity that as a man he couldn't possibly understand something, for example.

Plotwise, it's as fun as ever, showing the Doctor getting used to the old David Tennant face again and reuniting him with his former companion Donna Noble, whose memory was wiped for science-fiction reasons at the end of their time together. This story functions to reverse that fate and send them off in the TARDIS once more, all while dealing with a crashed spaceship and an interstellar conflict arriving at earth's doorstep. It's better to watch than to read, though.

[Content warning for gun violence and transphobia including deadnaming.]

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[Andrew Lawston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every Doctor Who fan above a certain age can tell you stories of their formative Target novelisation experiences - how in the days before a complete VHS collection, never mind streaming, animated reconstructions, and Blu-Ray boxsets, it was our only way to relive old adventures with the Doctor. And every fan has an example of a novelisation that had better special effects than its TV counterpart (ask me about Underworld, and strap in for a long chat). For 21st century Doctor Who, the production values have come on in leaps and bounds, and the show is constantly available across just about every medium you can think of. But it's brilliant that the inevitable finally happened and they started up the novelisations again.

The Star Beast is in safe hands with Gary Russell, who's not just a long-term figure on the show itself, but has written a bunch of original novels and novelised the 1996 TV Movie starring Paul McGann. Before all that, he used to review Target novelisations in Doctor Who Magazine column Off The Shelf. A safer pair of hands, one can not imagine.

Russell narrates an hour-long TV special in just 150 pages, but still has space to have a bit of fun with in-jokes and easter eggs (The Star Beast was an adaptation of an iconic Doctor Who Weekly comic strip of the same name, and Russell references the strip's creators (Mills and Wagner), setting (Blackcastle), and characters (in the original, Rose was called Sharon and ended up as the Doctor's first non-white companion in any medium)).

An alien crashes to Earth in North London, and a newly-regnerated 14th Doctor (David Tennant's recent lap of honour) tries to track it down. As the plot would have it, the alien ends up in the shed of Rose Noble, daughter of Donna Noble, the companion whose memory the Doctor was forced to wipe many years ago.

I'm incapable of objectivity on this one. The Star Beast came along when I was in a bit of a meh place, mental healthwise, and while it's undeniably daft to peg your mental health to a TV show, that's what happened. The sheer joy of it - from the Doctor and Donna getting back together, to the glorious Miriam Margolyes voicing one of the greatest graphic novel characters of all time - gave me the biggest boost that's still not quite worn off two years later. And reading this book brought back that sheer dopamine hit.

So I'll observe in passing that it's interesting that Russell chooses to narrate much of the book from the point of view of the often unsympathetic Sylvia Noble, and it's an effective authorial choice, but basically this is a faithful adaptation and evocation of an hour of television that possibly saved Doctor Who (even the biggest diehard fan of the Chibnall era must surely acknowledge that the show did NOT have a good pandemic), but definitely saved me.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating 3

to be fair I have no idea what the audience is expected to be for either Nu Who or these New Target Adventures novelisations - the one thing I do know is I am certainly not in the target demographic.
Saying that as a viewer and reader for 50+ years I do occasionally venture back into it.

The televised episode I thought was generally ok, special effects were ok, plot was ok, but it was rather underwhelming for the first of a three story 60th anniversary run. The novelisation really just said exactly what was on screen, I didn't catch any differences at all.

In the older Target novelisations this would usually be when they went the extra mile, included deleted or alternate scenes, added backgrounds for characters etc. There were a couple of pages introducing the wrarth warriors and the new unit scientific advisor but nothing worth noting.

And why re write Donna's fate - can not, after reading this novel (and seeing the other two tv episodes) really see why that had to be done. Other than RTD wanting to change Doctor Who history because he can. Not everyone has a 'happy' ending or lives life with no scars or regrets, in the past Who was able at times to show the effects of the actions taken by the Doctor, UNIT or any of the aliens.

So this novel is only 150 pages (approx), basically translates exactly what was shown on screen with no extras included worth mentioning, the plot moves along at a fair pace and was a quick read but I still found it clunky at several points which must be down to the screenplay being followed so closely (probably under instruction), on the value for money test at £10 I am glad I read from library rather than buying it.
I will read the next two books for the 60th since my library has them and I can see them from where I am typing this just to see if they form an over arching trilogy that works better than the individual parts.

Overall it was just okay for me, if you liked the tv episode then you will probably like this. If you thought that was at best average this novel will not change your opinion I think, especially as you have no special effects or music to accompany the text.

[MrColdStream · Rating 4 out of 5]

❤️90% = 👍🏼15 ✊🏼2 👎🏼0 = Superb!

The Star Beast is a great example of a novelization that remains faithful to the TV episode but expands upon it with new characters, new lines of dialogue, and especially in how it describes thoughts, emotions, and characteristics. Gary Russell fills in the gaps with more backstory, exposition, and descriptions effortlessly, without hampering the flow of the original narrative. These added elements flesh out many parts a bit more and let the story breathe more; they also add bridges between sequences seen in the televised story (such as how the Doctor got from the steelworks to Donna's house), so it creates more of a complete story.
 
Russell personifies the Fourteenth Doctor and Donna perfectly. He is even better at capturing Sylvia and her overprotective nature, while Rose is left a bit cold. The Meep is just as adorable, and then vile and horrible, as in the televised version.
 
Stew is a steelwork employee, and we follow some of his POVs during the events, which is very nice and adds depth and another human element to the story. Fudge (one of the main characters in the original comic and the Big Finish adaptation) also has a bigger presence here; he was pretty superfluous in the TV version. The other original protagonist, Sharon, is mentioned multiple times as a friend of Fudge's, so she's a fun nod to the comic story.
 
Gary Russell writes in a very energetic, youthful style that fits this Doctor and the RTD writing style. His vivid descriptions bring the story to life and make it feel modern.
 
Every chapter ends with an in-universe letter, article, SMS conversation, or similar, which provides some exposition and can be fun but is in no way necessary. They feel a bit odd and don't fit the style of the novel.

[F · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meep, meep.
I was honestly over the moon when I saw that this would be releasing at midnight Wednesday after the episode, and was so riled up with Meep from the episode that I could hardly wait to see it pop up on my Kindle. Overall, it was a lovely book. It followed the storyline of the episode quite well, and kept all the characters true to themselves.

The Doctor and Donna action was impeccable. I know it was all designed in the episode, but wow… it was 10 and Donna all over again, and I loved it.

Rose was amazing. She was obviously the same person that was in the episode, but having trans representation in television and books designed to be read for all is really a step in the right direction.

I loved the representation of the Meep. It truly seemed so cute and innocent in the beginning of the book, and if I hadn’t seen the episode or heard anything about the Meep, I would have fallen victim to his façade. You see, the Meep is not a nice Meep. First of all, he eats people. Actually, there’s not much more to say. He eats people and gets very sharp teeth indeed after his transformation. He is still so cute though, and so lovable, even with all his evilness.

The book was quite short, but that did mean I could finish it in time for the next Doctor Who episode. I would recommend this book to anyone who’s watched a single episode of Doctor Who.

[Sean]

This Target novelisation is a faithful retelling of the TV Story alongside some new details added to the mixture. Just like the episode itself, we see the Meep arrive on Earth and befriend Rose Noble, before being pursued and later arrested by the Wrath Warriors. There's some in-universe material from the Shadow Proclamation and an intergalactic Wikipedia entry, which is nice and helps to broaden the Whoniverse a little.

Most interestingly, the novelisation adds the milkman from The Stolen Earth into the mix, who now works at the steelworks featured in The Star Beast, and is called Stew. It's the kind of fun callback that feels geared towards fans like myself, who have been watching since 2005. It doesn't affect the story, but it does provide a good piece of connective tissue to RTD1.

The novelisation also dives deeper into Sylvia's thoughts about Donna's situation of being unable to remember her travels with the Doctor. We feel her stress that the Doctor has placed her under by removing Donna's memories, and how she has this cruel burden of having to keep Donna away from every alien invasion, to ensure she doesn't remember and die from the Metacrisis. Sylvia can seem a harsh mother to Donna, however, this helps to humanise her, and show how much she actually cares about Donna deep down.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-fourteenth-doctor-novelisations-the-star-beast-gary-russell-wild-blue-yonder-mark-morris-the-giggle-james-goss/

This is a good start to the new regime. (One of my personal complaints about the Chibnall era is that little attention was paid to the spinoff publications.) As well as faithfully transferring the on-screen action to the page, we get more characterisation for the minor characters, especially Sylvia and Rose, and some delightful tips of the hat to the comic strip on which the story was based – the steelworks is called Millson Wagner, in a tribute to the original writers, and the original new companion, Sharon, makes an offstage appearance as Fudge’s friend. Basically it’s what you want from a novelisation.

[Shawne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite as batshit bonkers as the Giggle novelisation, but Gary Russell does put in some lovely moments and ideas of his own to expand this episode beyond what we see on screen.

Really enjoyed the interstitial chapters, including text messages or excerpts from official intergalactic documents and even information requests from Penny Carter to UNIT.

Russell has a lovely grasp on the dynamic between the Doctor and Donna Noble too (as evidenced by his own novel, Beautiful Chaos), and while I very much wish this book had lingered more in Donna's perspective, I love the way he captures the tense, tender reunion between these two best friends here.

Some quite lovely, bittersweet observations from Sylvia's point of view too (she has really become the surprise MVP of supporting characters in RTD!Who, showing the most growth from her initial prickly appearance to the unquestionable love she has for her daughter in the specials).

3.5 - 4 stars

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Doctor Who Target book range have been a favorite of mine for many years. Getting a new Target novel was always a treat growing up. They not only gave you a chance to read about a Doctor Who story, old or new but always added a bit more detail to the story. When the range was brought back a few years ago there were many people very happy. The Star Beast by Gary Russel is the novelization of the first of the three 60th Anniversary stories for David Tennant as the 14th Doctor. The episode and the novelization did not disappoint. A reunion with Donna Noble, a reunion that could never happen when the 10th Doctor has removed Donna's memories when she became the Docter/Donna when 15 years earlier. And now the Doctor had regenerated with a familiar face and was being drawn back to Donna.
I highly recommend this for all the Doctor Who fans old and new.

[Mr Day · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. The TV story was ok but I enjoyed this book version a lot more. Gary has a light, effortless style that grabs hold of you and doesn’t let up until the last page. The story follows all the main beats of its TV equivalent. The only part that differs as far as I’m aware - and I might be misremembering here - is the Stu character. I can’t recall a Stu in the show but he’s a neat addition.
Gary nails the 10th/14th Doctor and Donna. Both characters are so strong they almost leap out of the page. I’m a big fan of Sylvia too.
Anyway, this must be a good read as I started it yesterday and have just finished it. Wild Blue Yonder is next and I’m looking forward to that one. It’s going to have its work cut out to match this book but I live in hope. I seem to recall the TV story being a strong, atmospheric piece so here’s hoping the book will live up to that.

[Connor Hansford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb novelisation of the best new story in years! I so loving having novelisations released near enough concurrently with the show - more please! What's fascinating is I guess that Gary Russell was given an early draft of the script for inspiration, and the things RTD dropped for the show he did for a reason, like the subplot involving Stew from the Steelworks (he wouldn't have needed to explain to the Doctor what happened, it was self-evident). I would have liked a bit of background about the seemingly random sequence of words the Dr uses to bring Donna's memories back, but that quibble isn't enough to detract a star. If any reviewers use the word 'woke' in their review, you know you can ignore it.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

The recently regenerated Fourteenth Doctor is wearing an old face and, when the TARDIS lands in London, he realises that he has been brought back in contact with Donna Noble. Alarmed, he tries to avoid her since her memories of him will trigger the metacrisis that is the DoctorDonna and she will die. To complicate things, Donna's daughter has come into contact with a stranded alien and is trying to help them get home.

Russell's novelisation of "The Star Beast" softens some of the hard edges seen on the screen and adds nostalgia to great effect. The memos and other documents scattered throughout the book add a little extra background for 'Doctor Who' fans.

[Lori S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars
Finally, we have closure for Donna Noble. She's long overdue and she shines here.

Rose is a sweet kid. I'd like to see more of her.

Sylvia is a remarkable person and Shaun is one of the most even keeled people ever. Not many would handle aliens and weirdness as well as he.

To be honest, after all the hype of Beep the Meep being in this story, I found them disappointing as a villain. And that's knowing what a horrible being Beep is! Guess I was expecting something more.
_For more information please see: Doctor Who and the Star Beast or visit: https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Doctor...

Otherwise, I really enjoyed this book.

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

First it was a comic, then it was a TV show and now we have the novelisation, which is a hybrid of the previous two. We get much more about Fudge and a throwback to Partners in Crime with a FOI request from the journalist Penny Carter. We hear more about the crimes of the Meep and his people, although there still isn't much made of the fact it wasn't their fault they went mad and tried to slaughter and eat sentient beings. The book captures the mad cap nature of the tale, as well as the Doctor's distress at risking Donna's life. Even Sylvia comes across more sympathetically than in the past. A good novelisation.

[Benjamin Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

This was a pretty beat for beat novelisation of the 60th anniversary TV episode, with a few extra little small bits and moments with a bit more depth. Some of it felt a bit rushed as moments that only really work because of the delivery on screen are just reproduced verbatim, which doesn’t work in written form. It also suffers where the original suffers in terms of unexplained, seemingly magical moments towards the end. I was sort of hoping for a bit more depth and explanation of some of it. Overall though, I can’t help but love it as it’s a fun story with lots of heart and optimism even as it is.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only 3 stars.

The first target novelisation I read was Rose, which apparently give me a false comprehension on what these book should be like. Rose was everything the script was and much more: characters inner monologues and thoughts, added scenes, refined plot. I adored that book. I expected the other novels to do the same to the episodes they present on paper. Or at least give back the feeling of the episode enchanting why I loved watching them.

This book was not bad per se but it was firmly only the script and not a sentence more just with different formatting. It definitely didn’t worth the money or the time when the episode is available to watch instead.

[John Parungao · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can I say about an adaptation of an adaptation, the original version of The Star Beast was a comic strip tale featuring the Fourth Doctor and introducing a legendary villain: Beep the Meep. Beep made his impact with the original comic strip, but was also featured in a Sixth Doctor audio from Big Finish.

The novelization of this episode also features a variety of easter eggs and references for longtime fans of Doctor Who. The various references were some of my favorite parts of reading this book.

[Neveah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmm. This contains an extra character who was in the comic book and he really is not worth the fan service space because I’m really tired of random blokes taking up the air just because. Also, several of Rose’s lines are changed for the worse (there’s a gendered one which is extremely problematic), as is at least one from the Meep. Overall, I’m guessing this was written from the script pre-recording, so some of the tweaks that made the episode really work and which made the trans elements of it very on point haven’t made it through. Disappointing.

[Gale · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. I didn't really like how they kept referring to the women's "Maternal instincts," I thought that was kind of weird. I also find it weird how Sylvia acts like she can't be nice to her daughter because she can't tell her daughter that she saved the universe. Like there's lines in there where she's like "If only I could stop nagging my daughter, if only I could tell her how amazing she was, saving the whole universe," Anyways, if you want more insight into the internal monologues of the characters, you should read this book.